Girls at St. John's Home get delivery of their own Santa packs

Dawn Carbines, organizer of the project, gives the packs a final check before they sent to the girls at St. John's Home.Jan Holst

There is holiday excitement in the air as a group of seven women plan to make Christmas special for girls living at the Clancy House, one of the residences operated by D.A. Blodgett's St. John's Home.

The girls, ages 7 through 9, will each receive their own large festive holiday bag, which looks much like it holds Santa's whole load, but is filled with items just for her.

The gifts will not only be those on her "wish list" but many more.

A small group of Amway employees, in the marketing department for the Artistry Division (that manufacturers and sells high-end skin care and beauty products), have been distributing special gift packages for eight years -- the last three to the St. John's girls.

The packages are customized to each girl's interests and may include "everything Justin Bieber," said brand manager of the department, Dawn Carbines. One year a girl asked for craft supplies and her package included a top of the line sewing machine.

"We get dream lists from them, but then blow it out of the water," she said. This year, the packages each include an American Girl doll that reflects the girls nationality, coloring, and personality and "lots of little girl floofy stuff" such as jewelry and glitter. But also in the Santa packs are items such as personal DVD players and this year, an iPod, for each recipient.

The Santa packs are finished off with comfy toys, such as teddy bears and a personalized stocking, stuffed with goodies, as well as a separate bag of skin care and fragrance products from the department.

Carbines came to Amway eight years ago hoping that the "tough industry" that brought her to Paris, New York, and Chicago, with its "Devil Wears Prada" type employees would be different. "One of the first things I noticed was that it is different here," she said. "The employees treated each other like family and all gave each other Christmas gifts. I thought right away, in lieu of gifts and each of such getting another Gucci bag, let's get together and do something good."

The department's gift initiative is not required by the company and not even structured, she said. The girls' wishes are put out there and some employees give to the program and others do not. The number of gift givers has ranged from two to about 15. This year, Carbines said, she thinks about seven contributed.

"We are supported by upper management, but it is not required," she said. "Sometimes one of them will stop by and ask, 'What are you missing this year?' and help out."

The group of Amway employees that call themselves the "beauty girls" know what it means for a little girl to be pampered and for the last few years have found a way to pamper a few of those who rarely get much attention.